Rash driving and loss of innocent lives
- Hueiyen Lanpao Editorial :: June 10 2011 -

Tata Magic, the low powered four wheeler, used mainly as a public transport vehicle in Manipur and auto rickshaws have become life threatening objects to innocent pedestrians as a result of rash driving and gross violations of traffic rules.

Compounding this are the runaway trucks and buses driven without caring two hoots about innocent pedestrians. Many have been maimed and many too have died meaninglessly.

Adding extra fear to the common people are the speeding vehicles of men in uniform.

It is time we enforce traffic rules strictly. Tomorrow could be the day when your only daughter or only son dies as a victim of criminal rash driving. The matter has to be tackled in two ways.

First the chaos created by not obeying traffic rules in Imphal and in different towns needs to be solved. Second would be the way to check criminal speeding on the open stretches of roads.

The obvious method to check this menace would be to apply speed limits and impose a staggering fine on violators. This could be followed up by stripping off the errant driver's driving licence or by seizing the vehicle.

The staggering fine should be mandatory with the emphasis on 'staggering' otherwise fines amounting to a couple of thousand rupees can be easily paid off without having made any meaningful impact on curbing dangerous and life threatening driving.

Our submission would be that a minimum fine amount of ten thousand rupees be clapped on these mentally unstable drivers who have no respect for other people's lives. The Directorate of Transport, hand in hand with the police must devise a system to check wanton speeding.

Mobile radar speed checks, whose locations are to be changed frequently, can be put into service. These ought to be programmed to automatically enter speed checks into the computer system in built with the radar speed gun. Why? This will ensure to a large extent operators favouring those who are close to them.

The Directorate of Transport and the Traffic Police must seriously discuss this very live issue of rash driving. Some visible changes are seen in enforcing traffic rules, particularly in the wrongful act of parking in no parking zones.

This itself is a positive step forward, but let us not forget the real peril is from speeding vehicles and reckless driving. After all how many precious and innocent lives are to be lost before we finally take cognizance of the reality. Which is, it is not safe on the streets in Manipur.

If nothing else, the smugness of the drivers who have killed innocent people and the whining of owners of vehicles involved in criminal reckless driving, must prompt the authority to take up immediate curbing methods.

And what if those who should be taking appropriate action play truant? In that case, as citizens we appeal to all high authority to put the right personnel in charge of the situation.